"You came here to buy unripe berries?"
The old village chief looked at the Fruitvale Village's chief in shock, completely unable to understand what the other party was trying to do.
To be honest, I'm not too sure myself… Mike muttered inwardly. Still, he nodded and said, "That's right. The price is five copper coins per berry."
Hearing that, the old village chief nodded in confusion, but then suddenly reacted. His head jerked up, and he looked at Mike with disbelief.
"You… you said five copper coins… for unripe berries?" the old chief asked with a trembling voice.
"Yes, that's right," Mike replied with another nod, his mood a complicated one.
The old chief felt like he couldn't quite catch his breath. He asked two more times to be absolutely sure he hadn't misheard.
Mike sighed and said, "Don't doubt it. I've already brought the gold coins. If you're willing, we can pay part of the amount upfront."
"Gold coins!"
"We're willing, of course we're willing!"
Afraid that Mike would change his mind, the old chief hurriedly agreed.
Then, moving with a speed that didn't match his age at all, he rushed out of the courtyard to inform the villagers.
Before long, a large crowd had gathered outside the old chief's home. Everyone wore an expression that was part doubt, part confusion, and mostly excitement.
If what the chief said was true—five copper coins for an unripe berry—then they'd be able to harvest every berry from their orchards...
Some villagers had already done the math and found that, surprisingly, their profits this year might not be that much worse than usual!
Still, before actually getting the money, it was hard for them to believe it. Who in their right mind would pay such a high price for unripe berries? These unripe berries were considered worthless. If someone was buying them at that price, they had to be crazy!
"Since everyone agrees, then we can begin the transaction now," Mike said. "I brought ten gold coins with me today, so we can complete the transaction on-site. For the rest, you'll need to transport the berries to Fruitvale Village yourselves."
Following Aven's instructions, Mike pulled ten shiny gold coins from his bag.
The villagers' eyes lit up at the sight, but still, no one stepped forward.
Mike had said he only wanted unripe berries that met certain standards. While everyone thought theirs qualified, no one wanted to be the first to try.
Even if the berries weren't going to ripen in time, there was still some hope while they were on the branch. Once picked, that hope was gone.
"I'm the village chief. Let me go first," said Old Chief Raul with a sigh, stepping forward despite protests from his children.
Seeing their father so determined, his children had no choice but to return to the orchard and gather the clearly unripe berries.
Looking at the green, immature berries in the cart, their hearts ached. This was the result of a year's hard work.
"These berries are indeed unripe but mostly matured. We can proceed with the trade," Mike said after inspecting them. He added, "But let's leave these few out."
He set aside some berries that had clearly just started growing, which were obviously different from the mostly developed ones.
After the inspection, Mike counted each berry and paid the full amount as promised.
Seeing the gold coins in the old chief's hands, the villagers widened their eyes. Then, with a loud commotion, they scattered.
Soon after, more villagers arrived pushing carts filled with green berries—some still attached to twigs and leaves, showing how hastily they'd been picked.
One after another, more villagers came. Looking at the line ahead of them, many regretted not acting faster.
Mike said little, continuing to carefully inspect every batch of berries. Since he couldn't stop Aven's plan, he at least had to make sure everything was done properly.
Though he brought ten gold coins, they were quickly spent.
The villagers at the back grew increasingly anxious. When they learned the coins were gone, they froze on the spot, unable to hide the regret on their faces.
Fortunately, Mike told them they could go directly to Fruitvale Village to complete their transactions. That news revived their spirits, and they rushed off toward the village.
That afternoon, a strange scene unfolded in the southeastern territory of Aspiration City. Villagers could be seen hauling carts full of unripe berries, all heading toward Fruitvale Village.
"What? You're saying Fruitvale Village is buying unripe berries?"
More and more fruit farmers caught wind of the news. One after another, they began harvesting green berries from their trees and heading toward Fruitvale Village.
Five copper coins per unripe berry. While not comparable to ripe berries, that price was beyond imagination for something otherwise worthless.
In previous years, they could only harvest a portion of their ripe berries—most of the unripe ones would end up as food for wild beasts.
Now, by harvesting every unripe berry, the sheer volume added up. Many villagers calculated and found their yearly income might not fall short at all.
Pete, a villager from Eastgate Village, had also heard the news about Fruitvale Village buying unripe berries.
With a "might as well try" attitude, he picked all the berries from his orchard that clearly wouldn't ripen before winter.
When he arrived, he found that the line of carts stretched from inside Fruitvale Village to well outside its borders.
While waiting, he saw other villagers from nearby villages coming out of the village holding coins with joy on their faces.
"So, it's true," someone behind him from his village said excitedly.
Such a fool… really exists, huh? Pete, who had come with low expectations, also became excited.
…
Back in Fruitvale Village, the local villagers had also come out to help once they heard the news.
Though they didn't quite understand what Aven was doing, since he was the one who gave the order, they'd follow it without question.
Uncle Texi's son, Peter, also felt puzzled by Aven's decision, but he trusted that Aven always had a plan.
Just like when they were told to go out and find Oddish—those little guys had really helped a lot during the recent harvest.
"Father, what do you think Aven's trying to do?" he asked during a brief break from the work.
Uncle Texi was silent for a moment before suddenly countering, "Tell me, why do you think Aven shares one-third of the potion profits with us?"
(End of Chapter)